Labelling
If you manufacture or sell consumer products in the Netherlands, you must comply with rules regarding labelling. Labels must indicate content, composition and shelf life for the product concerned.
Requirements
Labelling is required for most food and consumer products. On foodstuffs you must for instance indicate expiry dates and E numbers. And on clothing you should state among other things the composition of the article. For many products there are specific requirements regarding the information on the label, among others:
- Food
- Tobacco products
- Clothing and textiles
- Cosmetic products
- Household chemicals
- Washing and cleaning products
- Fertilisers
- Aerosols
- Toys
The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (Nederlandse Voedsel- en Warenautoriteit, NVWA) checks whether this information is correct. They make take measures if the information is incoorect or insufficient.
If your product is not listed here, it may not be subject to any additional labelling requirements. If so, you simply have to abide by the rules for general product safety. Article 2 of the General Product Safety (Commodities Act) Decree (Warenwetbesluit algemene productveiligheid) sets out what your product or the packaging should state.